They now lie in 12th place with their bid to get in to the top eight and stay in the Cymru Alliance under serious threat after the 2-0 loss.

Despite the result the first half was largely dominated by the visitors who created numerous chances for the likes of Ian Burgess and Arwyn Owen who were unable to convert.

However, one minute before half time, after conceding a needless corner, a dangerous delivery seemed to bypass all the defenders leaving Elwyn Edwards with a simple finish.

Penrhyncoch were dealt a serious blow 14 minutes after the break with Richard Evans sent off.

Rather than holding out for the win, the dismissal seemed to have a galvanising effect on the hosts who doubled their lead five minutes later, again scoring from a flag-kick with Gary Lewis the beneficiary.

In the final stages of the game it seemed ‘Pwll were destined not to score with an open goal missed and a shot striking the underside of the crossbar.

Llanfair secretary Alan Mummery said: "We are disappointed about the performance, but when you look at it we did have the territorial advantage.

"It was nice to get the fixtures underway again and to have a full squad available, it has been really hard to train because all our training facilities have been unavailable because of the conditions," he added.

Darren Moore’s side will be disappointed with the result that was their first fixture since their 1-0 win at home to Bethesda on December 28. Though Penrhyncoch had themselves been without a game for over a month.

The Llanfair secretary continued "We were hoping to go there and get the result, if you look at them last season they were struggling and they have only made about four changes to their team, this season though they are flying."

Llanfair’s next fixture is a tough one at home sixth-placed Mold Alex on Saturday (2pm).

in what could be seen as a must win match for Darren Moore and his side, especially if they harbour any hopes of staying in the division.

Mummery said: "Every game is important, I think they are in the same boat as us, we have played nearly all of the top sides now so the rest of the fixtures are against the teams that are around us."

He added: "We don’t have a specific target really, ours is the same as many of the clubs with the present structure as it is, which is to pick up as many points as you can and try to remain here."